Poor public gardens this year?

amcluesent

Just come back from a trip to Barnsdale Gardens which, TBH, were in a very poor state indeed.

But thinking back, pretty much all public gardens I've seen this year have been off their best.

Cold winter then periods of drought perhaps or is the fad for peat-free compost/no watering taking its toll?

liam8282

I recently went to Temple Newsam walled garden in Leeds, was very good.

Farway

Went to Wisley last week, as one would expect, it was wonderful. They did have a notice up about the sunflower maze not being very high due to lack of water

No watering they seem to have solved with planting a "prairie border" around the new glasshouse, been watching it take shape for the last couple of years, this year it is real credit to them, and just shows what can be done

A._Badger

I was at Sissinghurst a week or so back - magnificent!

But boy, was I jealous!

foxgloves

We went to Barnsdale Gardens at the beginning of last month and thought it looked lovely - everything flowering away as it should be. I would guess that the lack of rain, then nothing but rain has got the better of them. My own flowerbeds and borders are nearly over now and I'm doing the cutting down I normally wouldn't do until the Autumn. The rain has revitalised some things such as the cosmos and ligularia, but the long hot dry period brought everything on too quickly as it always seems to.

Lotus-eater

amcluesent wrote: »

or is the fad for peat-free compost/no watering taking its toll?

As you called saving the peat bogs a fad, does that mean I am allowed to call it sensible thinking?
Anyway, I can't really see how your fad would affect the gardens at Barnsdale, they grow almost all of their stuff in the soil IIRC and good quality seed composts without peat, I've found to be just as good as peat filled compost.

I didn't know we had a no watering fad, that must have gone past me. It's certainly true that different plants respond to different sorts of watering and watering every night isn't the best policy.

I don't like public gardens they make me feel inadequate